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Abarth 695 Biposto is Light, Fast, and Packed with Mods

Another sporty Italian car has gone on a diet and added more power, and this time around it has a scorpion on its hood instead of the usual prancing horse or bull. Making its debut at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show was the Abarth 695 Biposto, which the automaker is calling the “Most Abarth of all Abarths.”

The 695 Biposto is essentially a track-focused hatch that slots between the street-legal Fiat 500 Abarth and the Abarth 695 Assetto Corse race car. Its extensive list of modifications spans almost every part of the car from the gearbox’s dog-ring setup to the weight-saving polycarbonate windows.The 1.4-liter turbo-four also gets tweaked to produce 190 hp, which is 30 more than the Fiat 500 Abarth. The weight-saving measures knock the curb weight down to a claimed 2198 pounds, or about 360 less than the normal Abarth. The automaker boasts that the 695 Biposto’s power-to-weight ratio of 11.5 hp per pound is best in class, allowing the hot hatch to run from 0-62 mph in about 5.9 seconds.

If that weren’t enough, Abarth mated the engine to a dog-ring-style manual gearbox for faster shifts, though the gate is still arranged in a traditional H-pattern rather than a dog-leg setup. A front-mounted intercooler helps prevent the turbo-four from getting too hot, while an Akrapovic-sourced dual-stage exhaust system with titanium pipes should make the 695 Biposto sound even rowdier than its tamer sibling. Rounding out the performance upgrades is a self-locking differential, Brembo brake kit, adjustable suspension, and 18-inch rims.Inside, the front passengers will be nice and snug in Sabelt seats that feature a carbon fiber shell wrapped in leather and Alcantara. The rear seats give way to a titanium roll bar that also helps secure the optional four-point seat belts, while the floorboard is finished in an aluminum lining instead of carpet.

The Abarth 695 Biposto should be easy to spot on the road thanks to its sculpted aluminum hood, a lower front bumper dominated by gaping air scoops, the polycarbonate windows with sliding vents, and “695” badges.Customers can fit their Biposto with three kits. The Exterior Kit adds aluminum and titanium body parts for additional weight savings, while the Carbon Kit nets carbon fiber exterior and interior trim pieces. Finally, the Racing Kit adds a digital data logger, the aforementioned four-point seat belt, and a complete racing outfit personalized with your initials. Fiat points out that this is not a limited-edition car, which, at this point, doesn’t matter to Americans since it isn’t slated to arrive in the U.S.Source: Fiat